DragonStone- Fatal Winds

by M A Bernier

  “Your master soon will have no more need of what I offer.” Vuuaan watched as Jyn-Taa’s servant mindlessly nodded his head then allowed the shadow creatures to grasp him and pull him into the shadow paths and back to his master to deliver his gift. He turned as two others, unlike the shadows, approached him from a nearby hut. The man and woman drew back their hoods to reveal their bleach white skin and death black eyes and hair. “My children.” Vuuaan said. Two he had chosen to be the keepers of those he chose to serve him in his own place of dwelling. They knelt before him and he placed his long fingers upon each of their heads. “You have done well and will serve me best by taking those I have chosen here this night to my place of dwelling. There you will stay until I call for you.” They stood and spread their arms. In an instant their bodies became as white smoke and twisted in and upon themselves until they disappeared entirely from his sight. He longed for the solitude of his dwelling but his hunger was not yet filled. His long imprisonment had left him famished and hungered beyond his imagination and he almost doubted he could ever be fulfilled. He needed only to wait until Jyn-Taa and the elemental demons defeated their hated enemies before he could feast freely upon this world then upon others beyond the sky as he searched for Vamira.

  Patience Vuuaan reminded himself as he closed his eyes and looked within. Patience and in time all would come to as he saw in his plans. The outcome did not matter between the demons, Jyn-Taa and EverGreen, so long as the knife came into his possession. They could battle throughout eternity for all he cared once the knife was his and to that end he set his goal. He opened his eyes; spread his arms and his death-like body also turned to white smoke, twisted in upon itself until he too no longer resided upon the now dead islands. Let others discovered what happened in this place on this night it mattered not to him any longer.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Eriflen of Tre’El

  The lord and king of Tre’El stood silently in the counsel room with his hands flat upon a table filled with maps. On the other side of the long table ten sorcerers also stood silently. Each one was dressed in gray layers of clothing and robes and carried thick wooden and gnarled piece of wood about the length of their forearm. A single stone was held in place at the tip of each piece of wood by roots that appeared to have grown over the fist sized stone of black. The king, middle aged, gray hair and with piercing blue eyes glanced from one map to another. Each mapped revealed what he already had seen with his own eyes, the lands were failing and the elemental demons were winning the war. When Eriflen completed the right of passage at age eighteen and became the king he never dreamed a rogue of elemental sorcerers would summon those demons to ravage the land. A single rogue sorcerer named Dyl had become insanely jealous of Eriflen when Eriflen demonstrated his full ability to command all four elements. Only a sorcerer who could command all four could become king. Dyl had vowed revenge only to become a pawn and later he and his followers destroyed by the demons they released into the world. For one hundred generations the sorcerers of Tre’El, taught by the earth's protector, had harnessed the power of the elements. They also mastered the art of the gateways to bind the demons to another realm. Even if they could not contain them entirely their power and influence would be greatly reduced. A year ago Dyl had found a wayto release the spell-hold upon the demons but this should not have been enough to give them such overwhelming power. The sorcerers of Tre’El were more than 100,000 strong and lived on nearly every continent on the surface. Even if the demons attacked in full force a large contingent of sorcerers could be summoned to counter the demons' power. During the first attack more than five hundred sorcerers had been killed when all four demons were met in battle. Their power was even greater than when they were first defeated. Eriflen knew that somehow Dyl must have not only release the spell-hold but a helped the demons bring forth their full might from the under realms. He knew from earth protector the demons had never been fully able to come forth into this world's reality. One year after the war started Eriflen and his sorcerers numbered less than five thousand. The demons had two weaknesses that Eriflen could exploit, one seemed hopeless, the other meant defeat. Earth Protector had learned the gate allowing the demons to come forth had a key that if placed in the center would close the gate forever sealing the elemental demons from the earth realm. The protector and a ten of his sorcerers set off on the journey more than two months ago, nothing since had been heard from them. Eriflen seconds option for keeping people alive, but in bondage, was the self-center need for the demons to have worshipers. They had demanded the total surrender of the planet and Eriflen was faced with accepting that choice or witness humanity's disappearance into non-existence. The dragons too had sought to help but they were too few and too young. They would have died for Eriflen if he had not begged them to hide in the deep places of the Earth to someday return and free the world. The dragons told him their return could well be beyond the furthest generation of his children’s’ children. They had been hurt and beaten badly by the demons. With sudden anger he waved his hand at the maps upon the stone table. A gust of wind from his hand sent them flying away only to burst in flames as his anger kindled his other elemental power.

  “My lord and king, we have failed you.” One of the sorcerers spoke but all bowed their head slightly.

  “Do not place blame on yourselves.” He responded calmly despite his inner anger. He began to pace back and forth. “The fault lies with one traitor whose jealousy drove him to such madness. My only regret is that the demons got to him before I could.” He paced while the sorcerers remained silent. The final decision must be his alone, they had provided what counsel they could, it was not up to Eriflen to decide the fate his people. After several minutes of pacing and looking through the window and into the ocean depths beyond he walked back to the table. He slammed his fist against it causing it to crack down the length of the center. “I cannot allow the dragons slumber to without purpose. To have them return and find a world devoid of all life but what the demons bring with them would defeat all they are sleeping and healing for.” The lord and king looked at his counselors and his friends with grim determination in his eyes. “Not only have you been my council and my teachers you have also been my friends both young and old.” The sorcerers before him, man and woman, were older and younger than he. The youngest only a boy of eighteen but powerful in his own right and if circumstances had been different would probably be the next king. “Communicate with the others and with the messenger that we will comply with the surrender tomorrow at dawn at the place where our enemy has decreed.” With a subtle nod the sorcerers left the chambers. Eriflen knew he would not sleep this night so he walked one last time within and outside the halls of the city of Tre’El. He started first by making his way along the spiral stairs outside the tallest tower. The highest point of the city was five hundred feet above the ocean floor. The tower, fifty feet in diameter, stood five hundred feet higher from the center of the city. Below him the city stretched for miles in all directions. The outermost edge of the city was a hundred feet high. Each of the five sections closer to the center was one hundred higher than the previous. Five hundred feet from the outer edge a thick, towering wall of white surrounded the city. In between the city and the wall the inhabitants had planted a seabed farm covering almost every inch of the sea floor. Paths leading outward from the city interconnected with one another and separated the otherwise flawless farm lands. At the top of the wall the water dome began and rose high above the central tower. The only opening in the water dome, which protected the city from the see above, was the exit point of the water funnel. The base of the water funnel that started at the ocean surface and led to the city below ending at the only gate like structure in the outer wall. The funnel was the only entrance to the city that not even the elemental demons had yet discovered. Along the outer wall water archways that seemed painted into the walls were the only exits from the city. The roaring sound of the funnel entrance was magically subdued although still present a
s background noise. If someone took the time to listen it sounded like the distant rumbling of thunder. The same magic that created the dome to keep the water out also made the funnel silent at the city. Beside Eriflen a small globe lit the area where he stood like the thousands of globes he saw in the city below and the ones in the sea farm. The lights reminded him of stars, but stars that never moved. He spent most the night walking as much of the city as he could greeting both young and old, men, women and children. All their eyes upon him looked with hope that he the sorcerer king would find some way to lead them to victory; but he had no hope to give back to them. He did not realize he had somehow fallen asleep upon his chair while sitting out on the balcony of his chambers until his attendant arrived knocking at his door frantically. He glanced at his timepiece and realized the time had come and it was nearly dawn on the surface. Eriflen opened the door and his attendant lowered his head out of respect almost too quickly as he spoke.

  “Sire the Earth Protector EverGreen has returned with two of our sorcerers and begs your attention.” He said with great urgency in his words.

  “Where is she?” Eriflen nearly shouted as he moved quickly past his attendant.

  “On the grounds just outside the north entrance, she had not the strength to come further.” He ran as fast as he could through the halls almost leaping entire flights of stairs in his haste to reach EverGreen. Foolish in his haste only a minute into his run he turned to one of the nearest arches, stepped in and willed himself to the north entrance. Eriflen saw the other council sorcerers appearing as he did on the grounds and rush over to where three forms lay motionless on the ground. Other sorcerers were helping prop one of the figures into a sitting position. Eriflen ran quickly and assisted the weakened sorcerer.

  “My lord.” His face was withdrawn and cut, he looked as if he had lost half his body weight from when he left. He could barely speak and passed out as he spoke. “It was all we could do to bring EverGreen here to you, she has the key.” He turned to the unconscious form of EverGreen, before she had fought the demons she was a striking woman with golden hair, a light complexion and ice blue eyes. She looked old and worn as if time had played a cruel joke and aged her centuries in the time she had been gone. He placed a hand upon her face and willed some of his own power to her. He could only imagine what dark powers had been summoned to weaken her so. Her eyes fluttered, she smiled as she held his gaze but she did not bother to try and sit up. EverGreen lay cradled in Eriflen’s arms as she reached into her robes. She brought forth a disc made of granite no bigger than the palm of his hand. It was half the thickness of his hand but weighed heavy as she handed it to him.

  “Eriflen, here is the key, you know what must be done.” Her eyes closed once again, in her present condition she would not be able to stand with him when he met the demons and they would suspect something was wrong. He placed his hands upon her and willed all the power he had in him to her. It would do him no good to face the demons alone. In a few moments her eyes opened once more. She was weak but able to stand once the others helped her to steady herself. EverGreen looked at the sorcerer council. “Would that I could take the task you must perform.”

  “We know the cost my lady.” The youngest of the sorcerers replied. “Once we are in the presence of the demons we will summon the gate using the key.”

  “Then I will do my part.” Replied Eriflen as he hid the key within the leather sleeve of his right arm. “Once at their gate I will cut and spill blood upon the key then place the key in the center, the demons will be drawn in and trapped in the under world forever.” EverGreen cried as she looked at the youngest of the sorcerers.

  “You are too young to bear this burden I have laid upon you.” She placed her hand upon his cheek and kissed him on the other. “If Eriflen succeeds, and we survive I will not forget what you have done.” She turned the rest of them in turn. “What all of you have done for me.” Eriflen, EverGreen and the sorcerers gathered and walked to the nearest water arch. The looked back at those watching them from the sea farm and the city, all hoping the outcome would be not what they feared. EverGreen led them through the archway. They emerged and found themselves momentarily blinded by the bright morning sun, all except EverGreen. The others looked around and realized they were in the deepest desert of the west lands. They turned away from bright sun but sensed the presence of others. Once their eyes adjusted to the bright sun they realized they were in the presence of countless humanoid creatures. The creatures, made from the elements, were all too familiar as were the elemental demons Wind, Water, Fire and Air who plummeted from the sky to land within fifty feet of where Eriflen stood. Without obvious intent he placed himself so that EverGreen was in front of him and the sorcerers behind him in a half circle.

  “Do you surrender mortal creature?” The Demon Wind stood with black body and wings surrounded by mists of wind like black clouds dancing about spoke to Eriflen rudely. “Answer me or does your EverGreen do your speaking for you because your witless?” EverGreen turned her head to him and nodded once. When she turned her head back to the four demons her hands rose as quickly as lightning and let forth a torrent of all the elements at her command. The sorcerers had needed to wait until the demons arrived, their presence, along with the key, would allow them to create a gateway to the gate that brought them forth. The demons could not help but still be connected to it, and that link, plus the key, was what they needed. Even as the archway of water surrounded him and it pushed him through to the other place he saw the demons and their minions retaliate with such force that he doubted his friends had survived. His only hope, even if he could not return, was to seal the gate.

  It only took seconds for Eriflen vision to clear as the water-arch dissipated from around him. Even though he never had seen the gate before he knew where he was as he stood in the center of a stone circle almost a hundred feet in diameter. At the circle’s edge there were four columns, each with four sides reaching it seemed up forever. Beyond the stone circle was an endless desert. There was no sun, moon or stars in this underworld's sky but they could see. He wasted no time as he pulled out the key from within his shirt sleeve and placed it into the waiting indentation at the center of the gateway floor. He pulled his dagger and made a small cut in the center of his hand so that blood could flow. Eriflen put his dagger away and knelt before the key he had placed in the stone floor. He closed his eyes for just a moment before placing the palm of his cut hand onto the key. The moment he placed his hand on the key he felt as if he were frozen in place. After a moment or two he realized his body could still move. His hand felt bonded to the key. He glanced at the unearthly sky above. Countless bolts of lightning struck the desert all around him. The world around him exploded as thunderclaps roared so loudly the ground shook. Eriflen instinctively covered one ear as he was bombarded by the thunderous noise. The lightning and thunder continued for almost a full minute until a vortex a hundred feet above him formed within the four columns of the gateway. The lightning and thunder in the sky continued although some coalesced into the vortex made up of dark clouds and flashed of light. The ground continued to shake and an endless sea of sand twisters formed in the desert. Eriflen was buffeted not only by the crash of thunder and the lighting but by the wind as well. The world around him was in complete chaos. He looked and lighting emerged from the vortex and stretched out to each of the pillars. Each pillar was surrounded by a cascade of crackling lightning as complex as a hundred spider webs overlapping each other. The web like lighting began to expand at first randomly but then silhouetted forms began to shape into the four demons of the elements. Each demon looked to Eriflen realizing where they were and what had been done. They move toward him intent in shredding him to pieces but the webs of lighting held them back. The began to bellow and rage physically against their elemental prison at first from anger then from agony as the lighting sunk deep into their bodies turning completely into their elemental forms. The lighting prisons retreated from the columns and into the wa
iting vortex above. Demon Wind bellowed words at Eriflen in a language he did not understand. If it was a threat he no longer cared since he doubted he would live to return home. The vortex closed as quickly as it opened, the sky dimmed and the ground stopped trembling and the wind stopped. He was not sure how long he knelt frozen until he realized his right hand was in pain. He quickly pulled his hand away, the key was burning red, and he turned over to see the complex symbol on the key had been burned into his hand.

  Eriflen stood up in the center of the gateway and grasped the wrist of his right hand with his left to try to reduce the throbbing pain of the symbol recently burned into his flesh. He walked as far as one of the columns and leaned against it sliding down to a seated position. He did not know how long he had been sitting motionless. It could have been minutes, hours or days. The throbbing in his hand finally subsided. Eriflen tried to stand but he felt too weak to walk or stand. At peace with himself he lay down to accept the end glancing once more at the brand on his hand before giving in to unconsciousness. In the darkness, no longer aware of his body, he could hear distant voices but could not understand what they were saying. A brief flash of light sparked in the darkness for only a moment then the voices faded for a time. Another flash of light appeared but this one was distant. He saw a softer glow of light just beyond it that grew closer and brighter. Unaware of his surroundings he raised a hand he thought was not there to cover his eyes. The light burst forth shaded by something, pain wracked his whole body and he tried to speak, to run but could not. He heard a voice as clear as day speak to him.

  “Be still my lord, you are safe.” Eriflen tried to open his eyes wider as he heard the same voice only a bit more distant. “Dim the lighting.” The light dimmed and Eriflen looked around and saw the familiar surroundings of his living quarters.